Secretary of State’s Office files petition regarding minor party presidential candidate requirements

Petition filed with Thurston County Superior Court seeks clarity on “crossover signatures” to qualify minor party presidential candidates for the November General Election

OLYMPIA —Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State Monday filed a petition with Thurston County Superior Court seeking expedited clarification as to whether the secretary of state may accept or reject signatures of voters who signed nominating petitions for more than one minor party.

According to state law, “[n]o person may sign more than one nominating petition under this chapter for an office for an election.”

During the signature-verification process for nominating petitions submitted by the Alliance Party, the American Solidarity Party, and the Constitution Party, the Secretary of State’s Office found that numerous voters signed nominating petitions for more than one minor party, meaning they signed one petition and then “crossed over” to sign at least one other party’s petition.

In order to qualify for the 2020 General Election ballot, a minor party must obtain 1,000 signatures from eligible Washington voters who have not signed another party’s nominating petition. If “crossover signatures” are not counted by the Secretary of State’s Office, the three minor parties in question will not have enough signatures to advance to the General Election. Signing more than one party’s petition violates the nominating petition requirements; however, statute does not indicate how the secretary of state should treat those signatures.

Seven minor parties submitted nominating petitions to the Office of the Secretary of State: Alliance Party; American Solidarity Party; Constitution Party; Green Party; Libertarian Party; Socialism and Liberation Party; and Socialist Workers Party. Signature-validation processes determined that all seven parties had submitted a sufficient number of signatures for their presidential candidates to qualify for the 2020 General Election ballot. Prior to certification, however, the Secretary of State’s Office found that many voters signed more than one petition for more than one party.

The remaining four minor parties have sufficient signatures to advance to the General Election.

The Secretary of State seeks speedy resolution from Thurston County Superior Court because the Office and county election offices must print ballots and voters’ pamphlets in time to send them to military and overseas voters, per the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). Ballot materials for UOCAVA voters are scheduled to be mailed no later than Sept. 19.

A decision is expected on an expedited schedule.

Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State oversees a number of areas within state government, including managing state elections, registering corporations and charities, and governing the use of the state flag and state seal. The office also manages the State Archives and the State Library, documents extraordinary stories in Washington’s history through Legacy Washington, oversees the Combined Fund Drive for charitable giving by state employees, and administers the state’s Address Confidentiality Program to help protect survivors of crime.